About Me

Wife to a wonderful husband and mom to a beautiful daughter.
Our daughter is 14 years old, in 8th grade, and has been homeschooled from the start.
I write reviews, host giveaways, and enjoy homeschool life!

Homeschool Blogs I ♥

I Review For

Disclosure

To be in compliance with the recent FTC ruling that bloggers need to disclose if they are being paid or compensated for their posts, the following is my disclosure policy:

Our Homeschool Reviews is a blog written by me, Christine. Its sole purpose is to share homeschooling products and ideas with you.

Our Homeschool Reviews does accept and keep free products from companies and organizations. That being said, I will not be influenced by any form of compensation. I will always write my honest opinions and experiences.

Our Homeschool Reviews has several links to various stores. Some of these links are affiliate links. That means that if you click on them and purchase something using that link I get a *small* percentage of the sale. You do not have to click on them, but you are more than welcome to {and thank you if you do}.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Wizzy Gizmo? It's a catchy name, but I'll be honest, until a few weeks ago I had never heard of them. So who, or what, is Wizzy Gizmo?

According to their website, Wizzy Gizmo is a genius inventor who makes fun and fantastic gizmos, hence the interesting name. :) Not only that, but he loves God and loves to explore the Bible.

So Wizzy Gizmo is a series of Bible books, audio dramas, and flashcards for kids. We've had the opportunity to review one of their products, the Fast Track Bible Pack: New Testament cards.

The New Testament Series is a 27 cards set, each card representing a book in the New Testament. The cards are printed on the front and back on thick card stock, and are a large 5" x 9".

The front of each card contains a New Testament book summary, book theme, number of chapters, author, and date written. The back contains an outline, key chapters, key passages, key doctrines, and key people.

You can click the picture below to see the first card, which is for the first book in the New Testament, the book of Matthew.

Included with the set is also a card which lists each of the 27 cards by book name, theme, date, author, and number of chapters.

The Fast Track Bible Pack: New Testament cards are great for all ages and can be used in so many ways.

* Younger children can start slow by just reading the summary {or having the summary read to them} one day and selecting a key passage another day. That can continue until they are familiar with the book and/or verse.

* Early elementary age children can work toward memorizing the author, numbers of chapters, and date of the writing.

* Older elementary age children can continue on to memorize key chapters and/or passages.

* Middle school students can strive to memorize the outline and key people, as well as orally narrate the passage.

The cards can be easily hole punched and placed in a binder or on large key rings for easy storage and flipping.

My Thoughts: I think the The Fast Track Bible Pack: New Testament cards are a great tool for children of all ages. Because they are so versatile, parents and teachers can determine the best ways to use them for their student(s). I like the large size and sturdiness of the cards, as well as the different colors on the back to distinguish the different sections.

Thoughts of an 11-Year Old: The Wizzy Gizmo cards will be helpful for flash cards and memorizing the New Testament. For instance, the Matthew card says that "Matthew was excited about the Kingdom of Heaven". So as a quiz, you could say, "Who was excited about the kingdom of Heaven?" and they are good for little intros to Bible first-timers.Find Out More: You can find out more online at Wizzy Gizmo. The Fast Track Bible Pack: New Testament cards are only $14.99 and is great for all ages. You can also save up to 10% off your purchase by sharing on multiple social media sites.

Monday, August 18, 2014

Last week Funny Bunny started 6th grade! I seriously can't believe it!! This year we are using Heart of Dakota once again. Below is our 6th grade homeschool curriculum list.

We will be using Resurrection to Reformation from Heart of Dakota, which is a Christ-centered overview of the growth of the early church, the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, the Reformation, the exploration of the new world, and the advancement of science.

Finally, for Latin this year we are switching back to Latin for Children by Classical Academic Press. We received it in the mail over the weekend so she will be starting Latin for Children B this week.

That is the majority of what Funny Bunny will be working on for 6th grade this year. To see what we used from PreK to 5th grade, look to the sidebar on the left.

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Today is the third day of sixth grade for Funny Bunny and so far we are doing great! We are using Heart of Dakota: Resurrection to Reformation, which I'll be posing more on later. The picture of the books above is everything for the first week.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

"To make high quality Classical Christian education accessible, affordable, and flexible for the Christian homeschooler."

That is the vision of Roman Roads Media. If you are unaware of who they are, Roman Roads Media partners with master-teachers of classical education to offer high-quality curriculum for homeschoolers and classical schools.

We received the Grammar of Poetry to review. The Grammar of Poetry is a video and textbook course that teaches the mechanics of poetry using the classical approach of imitation.

The Grammar of Poetry is designed for children in grades 6-9 and is versatile enough to use over the course of a year, semester, or an even shorter period.

The course includes 30 Lessons within 9 Modules, which cover a wide range of topics like simile, metaphor, meter, pun, hyperbole, and alliteration, and contain activities, riddles, and poetry reading.

We received the Student Text, Teacher's Edition, and the 4-disk DVD set to review. The Student Text gives instruction at the beginning of each lesson and is a workbook for the child to write in. The Teacher's Edition is exactly the same as the Student Text but it gives the answers and includes a Final Exam, as well as some scheduling and lesson instructions.

I also thought the four Appendices in the Teacher Edition were very helpful. Included is a Poetry Anthology, Glossary, section on How to Grade Poetry, and Notes to Homeschoolers.

So how did we use it?

At first I didn't use the DVD. I read through the lesson out loud to Funny Bunny, we would work through a couple questions together and she would complete the workbook activities on her own. I'd then go through with her and help her make any corrections. This seemed to work really well for us as the lessons are all very easy to understand.

We did take a look at the DVD for one of the lessons, but since Funny Bunny was not having any trouble and didn't need clarification, we did not continue with it.

On the DVD, Matt Whitling explains each lesson, gives examples, and works through a couple of the questions. Each lesson lasts about 10-20 minutes and his instruction would be great for a child who is an auditory learner or one who may be struggling with the lesson. We found however, that we didn't need to watch the DVD and could complete each lesson with just the Student Text and Teacher's Edition.

My Thoughts: I think the Grammar of Poetry is a great introduction to poetry for those students who would like to learn more about it. As I said above, I don't think the DVD is an essential component, but some children may need the extra help it provides.

Thoughts of an 11-Year Old: Grammar of Poetry {which is recommended for grades 6-9} was kind of like grammar in the form of poetry - reading and labeling poetry rather then sentences. It was fairly easy for me, and I pretty much understood the concept right away. In my opinion, it was just a little boring, but I always had the exciting riddles at the end of each lesson to look forward to. {If you've seen or read The Hobbit, you'll understand my liking for riddles and we actually found a riddle from the movie in here!} Overall, it was not may favorite subject in summer school, but it certainly taught me a few things!Find Out More: You can find out more online at Roman Roads Media. The Grammar of Poetry bundle, which includes the Student Text, Teacher's Edition, and DVDs is on sale for $100. The 4-disk DVD set by itself is $85, the Student Text is $22 and the Teacher's Edition is $24.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

I'm always on the search for a good math program. There are so many different programs out there and math is one of those subjects that is hard to find just the right fit.

Today I want to introduce you to 3P Learning. 3P Learning is a leading online educator that specializes in math, spelling and literacy, reading skills, and science. I had the opportunity to review their math program, Mathletics.

So what is Mathletics? It's a multi-award winning learning resources that encourages students and rewards results by incorporating 7 key points.

* Engage: Safe, secure, and engaging online world of learning* Target: Pre and post testing covering the early years to grade 12* Diagnose: Reporting tools and diagnostics analysis for teachers* Assess: Assessments and detailed reporting* Reports: Real-time results and comprehensive reports* Fluency: Fluency in core competencies, live with others around the world* Mobile: Mathletics can be accessed on the go or in tablet-enabled classrooms

So how did we use Mathletics?

Once logged in, your child will create an avatar with customized hair, eyes, skin color, etc. Funny Bunny enjoyed doing this, of course, since there was no math involved. :)

Each day you then have several different options of what you can do. You can see below on the right hand side there are options for: Live Mathletics, Activities, Problem Solving, Concept Search, Rainforest Maths, and Times Tables Toons.

Live Mathletics: Children are able to compete with students from around the world in live, interactive math games. You can select the grade level so it can get quite challenging. Funny Bunny is not competitive so she did not enjoy this section.

Problem Solving: This section includes a ton of fun and interactive math games. The more you play, the more you unlock. Funny Bunny enjoyed this section but I made sure she completed the assigned math activities first.

Concept Search: This includes an animated math dictionary and concept search.

Rainforest Maths: Includes more interactive math activities for grades K-6.

Times Tables Toons: Great for children who need help with their times tables. Characters sing and dance their way through the times tables. It's pretty hard not to sing along and even my 11-year old found it pretty catchy.

Activities: In the center of the screen below are the list of Activity Topics. Funny Bunny started right at the top with Number Sense. The student can choose what to do or the teacher can assign different activities.

You can also see toward the bottom there are buttons to choose something easier or something harder. We found the middle to be the best fit for us.

When a section is selected, the student will begin answering questions. For instance, when I click on Rounding Decimals 2, this is the first question.

Students are awarded with points and gold bars for completing different activities.

The Parent Account offers access to all student accounts and resources like a Parent Toolkit and Instant Workbook.

You can view your child's progress and manage their account by doing things like assigning work and changing their current course level.

My Thoughts: I think Mathletics is a great and comprehensive program that will be a wonderful fit for many families. For us though, it was a bit too distracting with the avatar and games and Funny Bunny wanted to play rather than do the math activities.Find Out More: You can find out more online at Mathletics. A home subscription, which includes an Instant Access 12-month Annual Subscription is currently just $59 per student {normally $99}. Family discount prices are available and you can try it free before you make your purchase. Mathletics is for grades K-12.